Is now the best time to buy a property in the city?

The pandemic has done strange things to the UK housing market.

When everything shut down in March 2020, the accepted view was that sales would reduce and prices would go down.

However, the extension of the Stamp Duty holiday and the reduction of the Bank of England’s base rate to 0.1 percent,  on top of the very British obsession with owning a property, has led to an unexpected boom.

One of the key trends has been the move to home working for so-called ‘knowledge workers’, basically, those who can make a living from their laptop. And this is reflected in the properties they’re looking at and the prices they’re willing to pay.

Pre-pandemic, the trend for office-based professionals, especially in London, was to live as close to the centre as possible, However, since the pandemic began there’s been a shift to the suburbs, other cities and easily commutable parts of the countryside. Meanwhile, in London itself, properties with room for home working and outside space are in demand, as are homes with easy access to parks.

According to the Evening Standard, property prices in London have gone up by 6.2 percent, the fastest rise since 2016 (though this rise is less than in Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow). And not everything has risen.

The paper says: “Gardens, home offices and playrooms, backyard studios and balconies all command a price premium, with Beauchamp Estates reporting that London homes without a garden or balcony fell in price by 10 percent. Being close to a London park is more important than being next to the Tube as people envisage a future of working more days from home.”

While the number of properties sold within the £500,000 to £1m price bracket went up by a staggering 26 percent in the last year), sales of homes costing between £200,000-£300,0000 fell by 11 percent.

This divergence in prices and demand could be a boon for singles and young couples looking to stake their claim in London. Those without children, and so possibly more likely to go back into the office as things return to normal,  could find themselves in a short-lived price sweet spot.

In fact, for a generation who previously had no hope of buying in the capital, now might be the perfect time to buy!

Outside of London, the picture – on the surface at least – is different, with dramatic price rises across the board since the first lockdown in March 2020. In Manchester, prices are up 13 percent, in Glasgow 13.2 percent, and in Liverpool, 16.7 percent – a trend that shows no sign of slowing yet with the extension of the stamp duty holiday and the return of 95 percent mortgages.

However, there are reports that, as in London, smaller apartments without outside space have experienced the same price reductions as in the capital. First-time buyers in the likes of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham (fast becoming a financial hub) looking to experience city centre living may well get a pleasant surprise if they look hard enough … and are prepared to bargain hard.

Whatever your dream location, our nationwide network of advisers are on hand to provide you with the mortgage advice and support you need. Contact us today to speak with an expert adviser from Charles Cameron & Associates.